Lost Rocna Anchor

About 1830 the boat was making strange sounds from the hull.  The anchor rode was wrapped around the keel.  Winds and current rotated the boat in 22 feet of water. 

We were able to spin the boat around to untangle it but it caught again and again.  Eventually we were taking up the slack, the 8 plait line broke.  Possible explanation later. 

We swapped the spare bent Rocna with 35 feet of chain and anchored in 13 feet of water which was more open.  Rocky night. 

Explanation -I figured the only way the line could have broken was it fell off the bow roller and got caught on a sharp edge.   I was aware of this possibility but the person at the windlass was not familar.  

Second realization the line got cut by chafing on the keel

She was very novice that when I was swapping the anchor, she was driving the boat while the transmission was in neutral and she eventually asked for permission to put it in forward.  

In the spirit of Richard Lariviere, I was responsible for letting a crew doing what she was not competent to do.  I might have been better off resolving the issue single-handed. 

Friday night was rock and roll. 

Bulkhead was sqeaking. Chatted on Mirage Facebook group and Maurice Gagnon. Filed an accident report with Aviva on Saturday 

Saturday was Natalia’s 55th birthday. Had the Bahamas rum cake. 

Saturday or Sunday we moved back to the original anchor site

Spent Sunday looking for the anchor. We discovered we had lost the dinghy’s high pressure floor. 

Tried snagging with the dinghy anchor and lost the dinghy anchor - seemed to be a faulty bowline

We tried free diving but could not get to that depth 

Tried using a fishing line to hook it but that didn’t work. 

A nearby boat with an Israeli couple had a Hookah Dive System, Battery Powered Portable Dive Compressor for Tankless Diving but I could not dive that deep. Mostly anxiety and I did not compensate enough and popped my ears. Claire, a free diver coached me through Vasalva which helped me to recover the next morning. 

The Israeli couple tried to fish the chain using their anchor by dragging it on the seabed. Caught it a couple times but eventually dropped before retrieving it. 

 

Eventually we found some lobster fisherman who easily dived and recovered the anchor and rode.  There was 50 feet of chain and only 30 feet of line. 

Also found that the main halyard holding the dinghy up had chafed and broken. Chiheb had warned me about that and I ignored him. 

Nassau to Highbourne

On Thursday morning we set off on dinghy to get gas for the outboard and recover the lost oar that fell under water at the dinghy dock the night before.  

We departed Nassau harbour at 11 and motor sailed towards Allen Cay.  Along the trip, I decided that the northern winds would not be good for anchoring at Allen Cay and proceeded to Highbourne Cay which provided better protection and was about 5 miles further. 

Nice evening.  

Next morning we had breakfast and spent most of the day at the beach. 

Nassau with Natalia

Natalia showed up on Tuesday

Very disorganized - last minute busy packing, cell, not printing what I asked her. She bought a data package and did not tell me, I figured it out myself

We met at  MacDonalds where I updated my iPhone on their wifi

Walked 2 km to the boat. Had a beer. Did not have supper. She was tired and slept for 12 hours and snored a lot. 

Wednesday we went to the parade. 

Bought shampoo and hair spray

Bought a Rum Cake for her birthday on Jan 11

Bought fishing stuff from Boat Haven

Bought $70 worth of groceries including $15 grapes and $15 salami 

Bought $10 worth of Parrot Fish at Potter’s Cay for supper which was very good. 

Had a beer and drink at Potters Cay and shared a $22 Couch salad. 

Came back to the boats, put the groceries away and we decided to go to Atlantis. I tried to get gas but the marina closed early. We walked across the Sidney Portier bridge to the Royal at Atlantis getting there before sunset. A fantastic tour of the resort and The Dig. 

Came Back at 9:30, dinghy backed to the boat to realize the starboard oar was missing and we decided to go back to the dinghy dock where another dinghy told there was an oar at the bottom of the water at the dinghy dock. We decided to dive for to tomorrow. 

We pan fried the Parrot Fish with Plantains and cucumber and tomato salad. 22,000 steps. A great day